Interactive display devices, such as can be found in entertainment or retail environments, can be implemented with various user interfaces. These interfaces can include at the simplest, a keyboard and/or mouse, and at the more advanced, an integral touchscreen and depth camera systems, and even further advanced using wireless communication with a user's communication device.
A keyboard and mouse are devices that are subject to mechanical damage, and once damaged, prevent use of the interactive display, which is undesirable, particularly in a retail environment, and are increasingly seen as being unsanitary. Touchscreens also encourage physical touching of the screen which is also seen as being unsanitary. Further, conventional touchscreens more than double the cost of displays. Wireless communication is increasingly being seen as a solution due to the convenience for the user and for its added functionality, e.g. obtaining external information, billing, etc.
Existing technologies such as Bluetooth require the user to explicitly go through a series of laborious steps to enable Bluetooth, i.e. pairing with each display encountered. These steps can be time-consuming, laborious, complicated and unfamiliar for the user. Another technology is scanning a barcode on the screen/display. However, this requires the steps of aiming the device camera, successfully scanning, etc. Another technique is entering a unique identification code on the display into the communication device. However, this requires time to enter the information accurately on a keyboard/touchscreen of the communication device. Another technology enables two smartphones to associate with one another by bumping them together to activate the accelerometers in both phones, whereupon a remote server will correlation the timing of the bump and location of the phones to identify which phones to associate. However, this technique would not work with a fixed display. Another technology uses an audio signal to check-in a phone entering a retail establishment. However, this technique requires a special purpose transmitter installed at each location requiring a check-in. Other technologies include near field communications and Radio Frequency Identification technologies. However, these technologies require a special reader and transmitter. In addition to the specific limitations of the existing technologies listed, none of the existing technologies provide a mechanism for a user to have a personalized session with a display system without transferring/inputting key personal information to the display.
What is needed is a simple technique for a user with a communication device to initiate and have an associated session with a fixed external display, that is optionally personalized.
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.